Tobacco Documents Online

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TOBACCO SMOKE & THE I Many claims have been made about the alleged~ health effects of ambient tobacco smoke. Among the most frequent are thatsmoking in the home and in public places, especially the workplace, causes lung cancer and diseases of the lung and heart; in nonsmokers and that itis particularly harmful to those who already have respiratory and heart disease. However, critical analyses by independent scientists of studies making such claims, together with other studies which have found no such associations, show that the scientific results are contradictory and thus there is no unequivocal evidence to substantiate adverse health claims. An international symposium held in,1983 at the University of Geneva to discuss scientific developments in this area concluded: "An aier~ll ``~~ ased upon available scientific 4~; ~ata ie -, uslo±irtfiat an increased risk (of ' ~urig ; inokers;from (environrnental :.f ' ~ totia ure J~'~'`snotbbeen establlshed.°~ °' .YFX In May, 1983, scientists and'epidemiologists at a workshop on "Respiratory Effects ofiInvoluntary Smoke Exposure: Epidemiologic Studies" sponsored by the U. National Institutes of Health concluded: lVhlct]~ s i laVe. ~ sstUdl@ssr ?C ~ .- . h~ctt address;t~ie e ~ l g Ir ' at4rY~systerri. , , sug ~ lig ble ~ q mall '~ .O- Ult@:S ~t ~ rom t ~ Scientists at the "International Symposium on Medical Perspectives on Passive Smoking"„held in Vienna in April, 1984, and co-sponsored by the German and~ Austrian Societies for Occupational Medicine, and' in co-operation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Green Cross stated inia press release that legislative measures intended to "protect" people from ambient tobacco smoke exposure could not be justified by the available health data.

roxsMoxEa - suMMAaY Even organisations opposed to smoking have questioned the scientific evidence regarding these health claims. For example, in the United Kingdom„the Royal College of Physicians'#ourth report (1983) on smoking and health noted'that~ "the extent1o which passive smoke exposure can damage the health of otherwise healthy individuals is by no means clean°4 Another review in the U.K, the Third Report of the Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health (1983), stated: "We ~ believe that many of the reported associations, including that between passive smoking and lung cancer, have not been establi'shed'unequivocally; rigorously planned epidemiological and other studies are needed despite the obvious technical difficulties."5' A 1983 WHO study asserted that "although epidemiological studies have been undertaken to investigate the possible carcinogenicity of passive smoking and its relationship to respiratory diseases, further work is clearly required."6 And while the 1984 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on chronic obstructive lung disease discussed the issue ofi ambient tobacco smoke at length, it conceded that "limited existing data yield conflicting results concerning the relationship between passive smoke exposure and symptoms in patients with known pulmonary disease.'7 The claim that exposure to ambientitobacco smoke is known to be a cause of disease in nonsmokers carries a great deal of emotional weight. Scientists have warned about the danger of permitting emotion and fear to obscure the scientific facts about public smoking. For instance, Dr. Gio Gori, a former U.S. National:Cancer Institute researcher, recently stated: "What needs to bestated is that, despite'numerous ; and extensive trials,;available evidence has not been found that a rriasswe_publichealth problem attributable to.passiVe sRloking exists:"a Once the healthiclaims regarding ambient tobacco smoke are placed in proper perspective, any, call for the prohibition of smoking in public places becomes simply a social and political and not a medical issue.

References 1. Rylander R, "Workshop Perspectives," ETS-Environmental Tobacco Smoke: Report from a Workshop on Effects and Exposure Levels, Eur J Respir Dis; Suppl. 133(65), 1984', pp.143-145- 2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, "'Report of Workshop on Respiratory Effects of Involuntary Smoke Exposure: Epidemiologic Studies; May 1-3, 1983,"' December, 1983. 3: Valentin, H. and E. Wynder, "Health,Danger Through, Passive Smoking Not Proven: Physicians' View on Passive Smoking," (Press release for Symposiumon "Passive Smoking from a Medical Point of View," April 9-12, 1984, Vienna, Austria). 4. Royal College of Physicians of London, "Breathing Other People's Smoke," Health or Smoking? Follow-up Report of the Royal College of Physicians, (London, Pitman Publishing Ltd;, 1983)a pp. 72-81. 5. Froggatts P Third'Report of the Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1983)j 6. World Health Organization, "Indoor Air Pollutants: Exposure and Health Effects: Report on a WHO Meeting,"' June 8-11, 1983, Nordlingen, EURO Reports and Studies, 78. 7 U.S. Public Health Service, "Chapter 7 Passive Smoking," The Health Consequences of Smoking: Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. A Report of the Surgeon General;, U.S: Department of Health and Human Services, 1984, pp. 363-410. 8. Gorij G., "Sidestream Smoke-Faa and Fiction,°'ASHRAE Transactions, 90(1): 1984. December 1985 For fuller listiof references see Tobacco Advisory Council booklet "Tobacco smoke and the nonsmoker", dated December 1985.. i ! Tobacco Advisory Council, Glen House, Stag Place, London SW 1 E 5AG Tel: 01-828 2803/2041

For further information The leaflet you have just read is based upon a much more comprehensive review of the scientific and public policy aspects of "passive smoking'i. If you would like a copy, please fill in this slip and post it to the address overleaf. Please send'me a copy ofi Tobacco Smoke and the Nonsmoker - a review of the scientific aspects and'commentary on the public policy aspects of passive smoking. Name Occupation Organisation i Address ~ I

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